And if not, it seems unrealistic to expect people to adopt / trust your alternative.
Where is a link to the timeline?
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2019%E2%80%9...
When I get to the phone number step, it briefly shows a captcha screen but then transitions to the phone number screen.
When I enter my phone number. Country code +47. I don’t get any sms at all.
When I switch to the sms app to see if an sms arrived (it didn’t), and I switch back to your app, the counter on the screen that is counting down to allow resending code resets to 00:59 although it was at like 00:30 when I switched away from the app.
When after waiting for another full minute and occasionally touching the screen to prevent it from locking I am presented with the following options when clicking “I didn’t get a code”:
- Contact NewNode Support
- Resend code
- Call me instead
- Cancel
I tried resend code. No code arrives still.
Great, now I have to wait another full minute with your app in focus before I can try another option.
After waiting another full minute, I click “call me instead”. No call comes.
The sign up process is surprisingly difficult and doesn't appear to be working.
The CAPTCHA is VERY thorough. I couldn't seem to get it to agree that I was human. When I finally solved it, the submit button is hidden (you have to scroll for some reason).
When I enter my phone number it prompts me to enter a code that never arrived. When I click "I didn't receive a code" the app sends me back to the CAPTCHA (lol). I complete the captcha again and request the code.
I went through this process three or four times before I gave up. This seems like an ongoing issue[1]
Does the app have many users? Any users?
The last blog post on the NewNode site was July of last year.
According to the App Store there has been three minor updates- 3, 9 and 12 months ago. No notes on the updates.
Does NewNode have a road map?
I couldn't find any write ups about the app anywhere. No press coverage.
So, why did FireChat close down?
Edit: I just completed 10 CAPTCHAs in a row.
The thing I see is that if you really want to make a huge P2P network, you need a reason to have the app installed for reasons other than P2P. The problem I've always seen with FireChat was that I'd never get anyone to talk to me and then when there was an emergency no one would be able to download. So we need to have the features built into something with more normal day-to-day utility.
[0] https://community.signalusers.org/t/signal-airdrop/37402
TLDR it is often harder to reuse
Recall that it is public information that USAID created a Twitter clone called Zunzuneo to be used in Cuba. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they have also made some "secure" chat app.
https://hachyderm.io/@josephcox@infosec.exchange/11232112693...
But it is not so. Phone numbers are controlled effectively by governments if needed, they are re-used, and they cheap-dirt in some countries (like, I could get SIM card in Serbia or Laos for about 1 Euro on the street).
About re-use: When I get new number in Serbia Is tarted to get a lot of SMSes and later WhatsApp messages about my debts, from very aggressive people. It was not scam, but this number only 3 months before that was used by some local guy who got into big troubles with loan sharks. They were Ok when I explained that I'm expat with SIM card bought in the newspaper stand, but I needed to explain it something like 50 times!
Sorry, but phone number is BAD ID and SMS is TERRIBLE 2FA / confirmation media.